The Banana Alternative
by ASnowFern
Summary: Bananas are good. The Doctor liked bananas so when he read bananas are about to be extinct, he had to stop it. He just did not expect someone else to beat him to it. TenXRose Reunionfic


**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. Everything belongs to BBC. ): **I have also included a direct quote from the 2005 Children in Need Mini Episode: Born Again. (See if you can spot it!) Anything else you may recognise is not mine.****

**A/N: HELLO! Well, it has honestly been years since I have written fanfiction! But this idea just came to me while I was reading fruit trivia! Anyway, I am no biologist nor an expert on bananas so most of it is just nonsense. Bananas are going extinct though! Anyway, first DW fanfiction ever! I apologise if the characters are OOC. Or if there are any grammatical errors. I am still quite new to the fandom but I just love Ten and Rose so much that I couldn't resist. Also, this story is set just before "Turn Left" and subsequently replacing it. It ends just before "The Stolen Earth" starts. So yep. Be gentle on me and please do leave a review!**

The Doctor sat in the galley, nursing a cup of tea. It is nearing the end of the TARDIS night cycle but he knows better than to wake Donna before she is ready to be awaken. He doubt his ears will ever be the same again, even with his superior Time Lord physiology. It is honestly beyond him how anyone could spend so much of their life sleeping when there are universes to see and worlds to save. Digging into his pockets for something to entertain him until Donna finally wakes up, the Doctor managed to pull out a book about bananas. Strange, he does not recall placing it in his pocket. However, it is a book about bananas and it is not possible to turn away from a book about bananas. "Excellent." The Doctor thought and opened it.

That was how Donna found the Doctor an hour later, absorbed in the banana book. Regardless of how absorbed he was though, he looked up the moment Donna entered.

"Ah! Donna! You are up earlier than usual!"

"Well, you did promise me a trip to that Chinese shopping city." She said matter-of-factly, walking over to pour herself a cup of tea.

"Ah yes, about that shopping trip to Shan Shen, we will be taking a slight detour before actually getting there." The Doctor replied easily before pausing, "That tea has gone cold."

Donna narrowed her eyes, "What sort of detour?" She asked sceptically before replying his second statement, "Sonic it for me then!"

"Ohhhhh. Nothing too dangerous or exciting really. I just read a most distressing article about the bananas. Did you know that the Cavendish bananas, one of the best banana species, nearly went extinct in 2020?" The Doctor replied while taking out his sonic screwdriver to heat up her tea.

"How would I? That is in my future, dumbo!"

"Oh yes, of course. But we have to correct this Donna, immediately. It seems like the cure to the fungus that is killing off the Cavendish bananas came to the good researchers at the Wageningen University like a miracle. But of course, it was not them. Noooo, the chemistry behind the pesticides are beyond their time. Not by a lot, really, just about a decade or two." The Doctor rambled on.

"So we are going to go save the bananas from extinction? That's all?" Donna said with slight disbelief. When he mentioned a detour, she envisioned danger with lots and lots of running.

"Yup." The Doctor replied, popping the "p" as he always did before continuing, "Bananas are good. And important. Very much worth saving."

"Well then, better go save them, yeah? Let me go get dressed then."

"Try not to take too long this time alright?"

"I do not want to hear this from the spaceman that takes an hour to fix his hair." Donna retorted before walking back to her room.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to the Wageningen University in Netherlands, Donna. The leading research facility on the banana crisis." The Doctor gestured to Donna. One psychic paper and a rambling later, the two found themselves in the laboratory. The Doctor immediately got to typing in the necessary hints to drop for the scientists at the university. After getting into the data system, he frowned.<p>

"That's strange. The hints are already in the system."

"Maybe they managed to discover whatever they had to cure the bananas on their own."

"Unlikely. These are deliberately placed hints to guide them to the breakthrough. Very well-thought out hints. In fact, they are almost identical to the hints that I wanted to leave."

"You mean there is someone else out in this universe who loves bananas enough to come here to drop those hints?" Donna asked slightly incredulously.

"Seems like it. We should go find them. Meeting fellow banana lovers is always a pleasant experience." The Doctor stated beaming.

"I doubt that there are others who care about bananas as much as you do, Doctor."

"Let's go find out anyway." The Doctor said cheerfully when a young blonde walked in the laboratory. When she saw them, her eyebrows knitted together for a moment before relaxing.

"Hello. Are you people together with the other visiting student? I am afraid you got the wrong laboratory. Your friend is at the experimental plant sciences lab." She asked kindly in a thickly accented voice.

Catching on quickly, the Doctor hurriedly replied, "Ah yes. Of course. We must have gotten the place wrong."

"Understandably. The place you are looking for is one floor down, first door to the left."

"Yes, thank you." The Doctor flashed a toothy grin and opened the door for Donna, gesturing for her to go through first.

"Well, that was unexpectedly lucky. This visiting student should be our fellow banana lover, yeah?" Donna asked the moment they got out of earshot of the blonde student.

"Most possibly." The Doctor replied excitedly.

"Oh, look at you. So excited to meet a fellow weirdo." Donna said fondly as they turned into the lab that lady mentioned.

"I'm not excited." The Doctor said indignantly, "I am merely pleased to meet others who must be extreme-" His voice suddenly got cut off as he felt his throat tightened. He froze, unable to gain any control over his muscles.

"Doctor?" Donna asked with concern when she realised the Doctor has just suddenly stopped in his tracks. His eyes were wide in disbelief but it is more than that. It was a myriad of emotions swirling in him; ranging from a deep despair to a small glimmer of hope. In the time that Donna knew the Doctor, she knows that there is only one person that is able to invoke such pain in his eyes.

Rose.

She looked across the room. There stood at the laptop was a young blonde woman. She was wearing a blue leather jacket and jeans, she had a rather unconventional look but she was really pretty. She too was frozen with eyes fixed on the Doctor. Like the Doctor, her eyes carried pain and disbelief. However, after a second, she broke into a beautiful smile.

"Doctor." She says softly.

The moment she spoke, whatever freezing spell placed on the Doctor broke and his eyes hardened; a sign of the Oncoming Storm taking over. He clenched his fists and said coldly, "Oh, now this is a mistake you are going to regret. Change back. Now."

"No, Doctor! It really is me! I came back." Rose cried out. For a moment, the Doctor looked conflicted. It could been seen from his eyes how much he wanted that to be true. He quickly shook his head and headed towards her threateningly.

"I am warning you. Turn back into whatever you are." He threatened.

"No. You have to believe me. It really is me." When she saw the Doctor not relenting, she continued desperately, "The first time we met. You said to me one word, just one word. "Run." And we never stopped did we? All across the universe. Running, running, running, even hopping for our lives once. Remember the hopping Doctor?"

"Rose?" The Doctor whispered.

"Hello." She said tearfully before running towards him, jumping into his arms. The Doctor caught her easily, spinning her around before putting her down.

"Hello." He said tenderly. They looked at each other wordlessly for a few minutes before Donna quietly cleared her throat.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me?" Donna said, "Oh well. Hello, I am Donna. You must be Rose." She said warmly.

"Ah yes, Rose, meet Donna. Donna, Rose." The Doctor stepped back, running his hand through his hair. Oh, he hopes it will not turn into another Sarah-Jane situation. At that moment, Donna stuck her hand out saying, "I am really glad you found your way back. This one is useless without you."

Rose looked surprised for a moment before returning the handshake with her signature tongue in between teeth grin, "Nice to meet you Donna."

Following that, the three of them left the building to get back to the TARDIS. Just as they walked out of the building, Donna suddenly spoke up, "Well, I am just going to head back first. Why don't the two of you take some time to catch up and I will see you two later." Without letting either one respond, she walked ahead. After a few metres, she paused for a moment and turned back, "Don't mess it up this time, Doctor."

* * *

><p>The two of them walked hand-in-hand talking once in a while. Rose told him about how her dimension cannon finally started working and about the darkness that was approaching. She told him about how she was always so close but was never able to reach him. Then finally about how when the cannon landed her here, she found out about the banana situation and decided that she had to save it, for him. In turn, he told her about some of the adventures he had when she was gone; about the Master and the year that never was. As usual, Rose was the perfect audience. Always knowing exactly what to say. After a bout of silence, Rose thought back to what Donna said.<p>

"Doctor, what did Donna mean by "Don't mess it up this time."?" Rose asked quietly. The Doctor stopped walking and tensed for a moment. Now was the moment to finish the sentence he never got to finish. If it was purely left up to him, he would probably push it back as much as possible but Donna already saw to it that he didn't. Some best mate indeed, he mused. He took a deep breath and faced Rose. Gazing into her warm brown orbs, he felt himself getting entranced all over again. He took her hands and put them against his chest.

"Rose, the last time on that beach. I ran out of time. The last of the Time Lords running of time." He chuckled slightly before getting serious again, "Rose Tyler, I love you with all of my hearts. Every day without you has been excruciating and I never want to go through that again. Now that I have got you back, I am never letting you go."

Rose looked shocked for a moment before drawing him in for a passionate kiss. He reacted instantly, returning the kiss with equal fervour. When they broke apart for air, they looked at each other intensely before they got interrupted by Donna running towards them looking very panicked.

"Doctor! Something has happened! The whole console room has turned red and the cloister bell is ringing!" She shouted. With that, the Doctor turned back to face Rose and grinned widely.

"Well then, Rose Tyler." The Doctor grabbed her hand and said, "Run."


End file.
